A Prayer of Faith

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Read the rest of this entry »

Alright, I promised you answers to your questions and here they are. Read the rest of this entry »

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently. Somehow the topic of the Perpetual Education Fund came up. And I think a gentle reproof (or at least a gentle lesson) came from heaven as we talked. Read the rest of this entry »

Michael is my ex-husband. Since our divorce, I have remarried. He has not. Given that we are still good friends with a functional relationship, I find myself getting an interesting view into not-so-Young Single Adult dating in the church… Read the rest of this entry »

Albania has emerged recently from communism and a ruthless dictatorship. Enver Hoxja created the only forced atheist state in the world. There was not even one religion approved of by Hoxja and in fact it was considered against the law to have faith in any supreme being.  Churches and mosques were turned into government buildings and books were burned. During his long reign from 1944 to 1985, Albanians lost their faith in God and religion was non-existent.  After Hoxja’s reign the people of this largely Muslim country returned to religion thinking that faith was more of an identity or roots passed on from parents to children.  Read the rest of this entry »

While we are soliciting ideas…

I was supposed to be headed home to the states for part of our summer vacation, but with the impending birth of our third child it wasn’t prudent to leave until fall when the baby is due.  This is also my first experience with a school aged child (5) living in a foreign land with no Micheal’s nearby for scrap booking and craft making supplies.  The majority of our friends and acquaintances here are leaving for the summer which leaves few children to play with and even fewer moms to relate to.  I’m terrified of resorting to the television as our main source of entertainment in a city that becomes too hot, polluted, and dusty to play outside.  (Also, the power goes out frequently which kicks on a very noisy smelly generator in the middle of the yard that makes it unbearable to play out there).

We’ll go to the pool and take a vacation here and there, but there will be down time in the afternoons in July and August.   So I need some in-home activity ideas to do to keep us busy and happy and sane.  Any ideas?

Like Michelle, I have been put in a teaching role, and need some help. I’ve been asked to teach a short class on Astronomy for an enrichment activity.

Let me start off by saying that I’m out of touch. During the years I’ve spent studying Physics and Astronomy I have forgotten at what point I learned things, and what I knew before I started my studies. I also don’t know what the average person is most curious about or interested in. So to help me prepare something that my Relief Society Sisters will enjoy I’m turning to all of you for help. The activity will be in a month, and it will be held indoors. I’d love to take them stargazing, but there is an awful lot of light pollution in these parts, and I don’t think they’d be up for a long drive. So what would you want to hear about? Is there something you’ve always wondered about the planets, the stars, the sun, the moon, the skies etc.? Read the rest of this entry »

This may sound strange, but I’ve looked forward to the day when I could teach my children more about the law of chastity and all that entails. But I wasn’t ready for that opportunity to come so soon, nor to be thrust upon me by a neighbor child’s sex-ed lesson to my three children (my youngest is only four, mind you!). Fortunately, my oldest (age 7) came to me directly and we had a good talk. I kept things pretty general, and made a point to bring in the law of chastity. I want the doctrinal and spiritual and wonderful aspects of it to be more the focus than the, er, mechanical. That’s a tricky balance because ya gotta have both. Read the rest of this entry »

A dear, special & unique friend just called. We had a quick chat, our own moment of Gospel Sisterhood. As brief and scattered as the conversation was, by the time we hung up not only was my heart full, my happy-meter was peaked scale-high. I felt cozy yet vibrant, peaceful yet vital. It’s a unique feeling, but one not too uncommon in my life. It was familiar, and yet I hadn’t pegged it down. Unable to account for my own overabundance of warm fuzzy, I immediately turned to my most trusted counselor in matters of all things Naiah–my husband.

As I was animatedly relating the conversation to him, I heard myself call out “The Lord loves me!” That was it. Not only did I feel loved by her, I felt loved by Him. Read the rest of this entry »

I had a fun, out-of-the-ordinary day yesterday. I went to lunch with two friends. One I hadn’t interacted with for nearly two decades. I’ve known her since elementary school, and we played on the junior high school basketball team together. The other friend was our coach and teacher from that era.

Going out to lunch with girlfriends is fun enough, but we did much more than fill our tummies and get our social fix. We fed our spirits. Read the rest of this entry »